Hmmmmm!!! Why does God let bad things happen in the world? Let's see here now. I could be arrogant and say, "let's try to answer this for those who SHOULD be able to get it" but that is totally not my style. Instead my style is to offer what I have found and know to be true and yes I said WHAT I PERSONALLY know to to be true. I have been through a great deal in my life and it would have been easy to blame the Lord, however, I choose to look at it in a broader sense of the question and the picture.
So again, we ask this question, "Why does God let bad things happen in the world?" First of all, this question is probably as old as religion itself. It is a stumbling block for some of us, and for many more at given moments of tragedy. There are as many answers to this age old question as there are people who care to engage in theological dialogue. Since this is the place where ministers of all sorts come together in one place to engage in dialogue and discussion, let's look at this question up close.
There are many understandings to this question and let's hit on the most common, one understanding is that yes, God allows "bad" things to happen; God does not cause them to happen. Most "bad" things which happen do so because God gives a radical freedom to God's people; we are free people, not puppets on a string. But God does not cause "bad" things to happen. God loves us and grieves with us in our pain when "bad things" happen.
So therefore, we might best respond by saying that God does not will "bad" things to happen in life. Rather, "bad" things happen in the freedom that comes with the gift of life. When "bad" things happen to any of God's children, God is grieved and suffers with us, experienced most vividly in the hurt and suffering of Jesus the Christ for all humanity. Any "bad" thing which happens is never the last word. Rather, God is the deepest and last word, and that word is love and eternal life with God.
Like so many people, I have struggled with this question in the past as it pertains to my own life and the lives of others around me. I would be lying if I said, I have never looked up and asked God, "WHY?" Why did this or that happen and then question Him in the fact that I have done my utmost to be faithful in all things. Only by coming to terms over time with something terribly sad and painful in my life have I come to understand the role in which God plays when human tragedies occur. I now know that God does not send bad things to punish us or test us. In fact, God does not send them at all. Rather I know from experience that there are powerful forces loose in the world, forces like evil, disease and death and somethings worse than death.
So what exactly is God's role in all this turmoil? If God is not sending the disease, the horrible accidents that claim our loved ones, the war, the poverty and starvation, the why not step in and stop them? For me, this was a harder question. The experience of the individual cries so clearly for divine intervention, for healing, for salvation from emotional or physical pain. Although sometimes miraculous healings do occur which suggest the presence of the Divine, as I have seen happen in my own experiences working so closely with so many in the Church.
However, the "intervention" I have experienced has been as powerful as anything physical. I have grown certain that God actually mourns these horrible events with us, that God is as sad, even more so, about what is happening to me as I am or you as you are. God's role, I have felt, is to be "by my side," to understand me, to comfort me, to "lead me beside still waters... and restore my soul" in the metaphorical "Valley of Death" which I face, as does every other person in the world.
One thing many do not realize is that faith is not an insurance policy, but a blanket of assurance that God will be with us no matter what we encounter. When our hearts break, God's heart breaks also. God would never wish harm on any one of His beloved children. He is always there with us, holding us in our deepest sorrows as well as our wildest joys. I have drawn much comfort, reassurance and a growing sense of peace from these two thoughts.
I have heard some people say that all the bad things that happen in the world prove that God does not exist. How could there be a God, they wonder, who allows so much evil to take place? I would answer these people by assuring them that God does exist and He deeply cares about His children. He cares so much, in fact, that He suffered crucifixion and death so that we might truly live.
I believe suffering results from our separation from God. He is holy, all-powerful, all-loving, all that is good. Each day I find myself doing things that move me away from Him. Every time I sin, the world becomes a little bit worse. I can do no good thing apart from God. The more I separate myself from Him, the more likely I am to cause someone else harm or pain.
To me Christianity is about God seeking us out, calling us back to him. In this life, we are separated from Him, so there will be suffering. However, if we use this precious gift of life to answer His call, He will deliver us into an eternity of peace. He has given us a choice, but most of us choose to reject Him.
Finally, and most importantly, God's role is to help me heal on a daily basis- help me collect the pieces broken by experience- help me become Whole again, Whole as I was intended and created to be from the beginning by this loving God that I GLADLY serve.
